LTMFS Part 4: Faith and Guilt

There are so many “Christians” who aren’t living for God. They’re afraid to give up worldly pleasures. Their faith is so weak it’s sad. Then again, I’m not so great myself. I could be so much better, but sometimes I just don’t know what else to do. My faith is weak, too.

“Lord, forgive me. I don’t want to ever hurt You again… Help me to be strong and stable in my faith. Jesus, show me what I need to do with my life to glorify You.”

– September 15th, 1998

Dear Former Self,

What do you think faith is? It usually means a belief in a particular religion, regardless of whether there’s any evidence for it. It seems pretty clear that you have faith. A lot of it. So much that you’re not bothering to go to college or planning on ever having a family because you believe Jesus is going to return soon, anyway.

Rather than dwell on the fact that millions of people before you made the same mistake (for example, there’s a book called “88 Reasons the Rapture Will Happen in 1988”), I’m going to ask a question: Why are you getting so down on yourself? Your faith isn’t weak at all, so why do you feel so guilty?

I suppose it’s because your religion teaches that you are evil and broken. Sure, you believe you’ve been forgiven, but you still think you are sinful and deserve to go to Hell. You can try to shrug off that guilt and rejoice in God’s grace, but every time you sin you’re going to feel guilty again. Every time you think a lustful thought, every time you tell a lie (however small), and every time you indulge in “worldly” entertainment you’re going to hate yourself all over again and beg God to help you be a better Christian. This is no way to live.

You need to accept that you’re not such a bad person and escape this cycle of mania and depression. I would also recommend seeking professional help for your mood disorder. When you take Psychology 101 in a few years, you will learn that mental disorders are actually physical disorders because they involve physical chemicals inside the brain. Asking God to help with your emotional problems will do you no more good than going to a faith healer for a broken arm.